There could be more skirmishes between Indian and Chinese soldiers along their contested frontier in Ladakh as Beijing ramped up military infrastructure in the region, news agency Reuters reported citing a security assessment by the police.
The report claimed that the assessment is part of a new, confidential research paper by the Ladakh Police that was submitted at a conference of top police officers held from January 20 to 22.
The relations between India and China nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley Ladakh in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process on the north and south banks of the Pangong Lso and in the Gogra area.
In September last, the Indian and Chinese militaries carried out disengagement from the Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area. A fresh clash erupted between the two sides in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang in December but there were no deaths.
The Reuters report added that the assessment was based on intelligence gathered by local police in the border areas and the pattern of India-China military tensions over the years.
{{/usCountry}}The Reuters report added that the assessment was based on intelligence gathered by local police in the border areas and the pattern of India-China military tensions over the years.
{{/usCountry}}It claimed that the Indian Army did not respond to a request for comment but the assessment assumes significance as it was submitted at a conference attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It said the Chinese foreign ministry also did not respond to a request for comment.
"Given the domestic compulsions ... in China and their economic interests in the region, the PLA would continue to build up its military infrastructure and skirmishes would also get frequent which may or may not follow a pattern,” the report stated, referring to China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
“If we analyse the pattern of skirmishes and tensions, the intensity has increased since 2013-2014 with an interval of every 2-3 years… With the massive infrastructure build up by PLA on Chinese side both the armies are testing each other’s reaction, strength of artillery and infantry mobilization time,” it added.
India and China share a 3,500 km border that has been disputed since the 1950s. The two sides went to war over it in 1962.